Rutland has maintained its record of lower cases, just reporting five positive tests yesterday.

England's smallest county has also gone more than a week without recording a death- the most recent being last Tuesday.

However, the 7-day case rate rose a little as the number of cases over the past week increased from 41 to 43, but this is less than the 99 a week ago when a second major outbreak at HMP Stocken caused numbers to spike again.

The Rutland 7-day case rate is now 107.7 cases per 100,000, which compares with the England average of 91.4.

During the first prison outbreak, this rate exceeded 500 and made the county among the worst in the country, with it responsible for half of the county's cases.

With the total number of cases in Rutland at 1544 since the start of the pandemic, this means that about one-in-25 Rutlanders will have been tested positive with the virus at some stage.

The deaths tally of 59 means about one-in-600 residents will also have died with Covid-19.

Meanwhile, South Kesteven continues to record fewer Covid-19 cases, reflecting national trends.

The district yesterday recorded 12 cases today, compared with 9 cases on both Monday and Tuesday, but with the numbers being well-down on last week, the 7-day rate continues to fall significantly.

The district recorded 132 cases in the week to Wednesday, compared with 143 cases in the week to Tuesday and 158 in the week to Monday.

The 7-day case rate for South Kesteven is now 92.7 cases per 100,000, just above the England average of 91.4, which is also falling rapidly.

The district's 12 cases gives a grand total of 6843 since the start of the pandemic- about one in 20 of South Kesteven's population.

The number of recorded deaths remained at 255 since the start of the pandemic- about one-in-600 of South Kesteven's population.

Overall, there have been 181 new coronavirus cases and six COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Wednesday — compared to 217 cases and four deaths last Wednesday.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard recorded 106 new cases in Lincolnshire, 42 in North East Lincolnshire and 33 in North Lincolnshire.

On Wednesday, five deaths were registered in Lincolnshire and one in North East Lincolnshire. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.

NHS England reported five new local hospital deaths on Wednesday, three at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust and two at at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust.

On Wednesday, national cases increased by 6,385 to 4,194,785, while deaths rose by 315 to 123,783.

In national news, the Chancellor has revealed his 2021 Budget which includes extensions to the furlough scheme and stamp duty relief, as well as increases in Universal Credit and National Living Wage.

Rishi Sunak said in the House of Commons: "Coronavirus has caused one of the largest most comprehensive and sustained economic shocks this country has ever faced."

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, workplace absences due to illness fell during 2020, official figures reveal, as pandemic restrictions helped some workers dodge their colleagues' coughs and colds.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the UK's sickness absence rate declined from 1.9% to 1.8% last year – the lowest level since its records began in 1995, when the rate was 3.1%.